Hellenistic amphora from buto survey and excavations

Buto (Tell-el Farain) is located within the borders of the modern village of Kafr-el-Sheik, 15 km. away from the Nile Delta towards North. Many amphorae have been found in Hellenistic (Ptolemaic) Buto. Imported amphorae were found as well as the Egyptian ones. Importance of the P5 Sector is a result of being one of the living spaces back in the Hellenistic period. Surveys and excavations on this sector was carried by Prof. Dr. P. Ballet between 2007-2010 seasons. The main objective of this study is to study the amphorae found in P5 Sector of Buto, which was a prominent settlement of Nile in antiquity and to determine the commercial map of Hellenistic (Ptolemaic) Buto through the amphorae found in the mentioned sector and determine the economic and commercial activities of the settlement through the study of the amphorae. Also, it is important to place the findings in the chronology of the Hellenistic pottery. A catalog containing the amphora was formed after a proper study of the typology and the clay features of the amphorae. Furthermore similar amphorae were found in the already published works to be able to make a chronological order. Because of the many amphorae found in the settlement, Buto was examined in economic and commercial manner while keeping production made here in mind. KEYWORDS: Archeology, Buto, Egypt, Hellenistic, Amphora.